merrill



(:No Model.)

l H. BOND & G. A. MERRILL,

TWIN SEWING MACHINE.

No. 251,674. Patented Dec. 27,1881.

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N. PETER& PholoLitnn NITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE.

HIRAM BOND AND GEORGE A. MERRILL, OF HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS,

' 'ASSIGNORSTO SAID HI RAM BOND.

TWiN SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 251,674, dated December 27, 1881. Applicaiiomfiled A ngust 152, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HIRAM BoND and GEORGE A. MERRILL, of Haverhill, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,

have invented certain Improvements in Twin Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification. i i

This invention relates to that class of sewing-machines which are provided with two I0 stitch-forming mechanisms adapted to form two parallel rows of stitches simultaneously,

and laterally adjustable so as to form said rows at any desired distance apart, such machines being known as twin sewing-machines, and used largely in attaching seam-covering stays to the uppers of boots and shoes, the tworows of stitches required to attachthe stay to the two parts connected by the seam being made simultaneously.

()ur' invention has for its object to prevent the work from being vertically displaced between the presser-fcetand to enable the work to be. easily and accurately guided during the operation of attaching an inside seam-coverin g stay; and to this end it consists generally in the provision of means for holding down the work at a point between the twin presser feet, and specifically in the provision of arollerjournaled in the ends of the twin presser-feet, and 0 provided with a peripheral rib adapted to run in the groove formed in the outer surface of the seamed part ofa boot or shoe upper to which a stay is to be attached, and thereby guide said parts by the seam While the stay 3 5 is being attached, as we will now proceed to describe and claim.

Oftheaccompauyingdrawings,forming part of this specification, Figure lrepresents a perspective view of a portion of a twin sewing-ma- 0 chine embodying our invention. Fig. 1 represents a modification. Fig. 2 represents a top View of the same. Fig. 3 represents a front elevation, the bed and mechanism below being in section The same letters refer to the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, a a represent the needles, b b the presser-feet, c c the feed-dogs, and d d the shuttles, of a twin sewing-machine, said parts forming two separate stitch forming mechanisms,which are movable toward and from each other, as shown in the patent to G. Stackpole, J r., No. 45,278, dated November 2.), 1864. The presser-feet b b are adapted to be raised and lowered together to release and hold 5 5 the work, and to be raised and lowered independently to a slight extent to accommodate 'each foot to a thickness of work varying from the thickness under the other foot. These features of the machine, however, are not of our invention. y

- The outer ends of the presser-feet b b are provided with upwardly-projectiug ears, having substantially vertical slotsclocatedin front of the needles, and in these slots is placed the arbor f of a roller, 9, the roller beinginterposed between the presser-feet in front of the needles. The arborfis elongated, so that it will admit of any desired separation of the presser'feet without losing its hearings in said feet. The arbor f is movable vertically in the slots 6, and pressed downwardly by springs h h attached to the feet, said springs enabling the roller to have a yielding movement independent of the presser-feet b b, so that said roller can yield to the extra thickness of work between but not under the feet 12 I), caused byan inside stay of less width than the space between the proximate edges of said feet.

The roller g is provided with a peripheral rib, g, which is adapted to run in the groove formed in the outer surface of a boot or shoe upper between the two parts 70 70 thereof when said parts are united in such manner as to require an inside seam-covering stay, 1.. The rib 9, running in said groove, guides the work mainly or wholly without assistance from the operator, thereby insuring the formation of the two rows of stitches at equal distances from and parallel with the seam, and also enabling 0 additional rows of stitches to be formed exactly parallel with the first rows, the distance between the stitch-forming mechanisms being changed after the first rows are formed, and the roller being adjusted, by means hereinafter 9 5 described, so that its rib is equidistant from the two presser-feet as last adjusted. The second rows of stitches are therefore guided by the same means as the first rows, and their parellelism with the first rows is assured. IOO

To secure the rib g at a point equidistant from the presser-feet we employ a collar, m, adapted to be adj nsted on the arbor f and held at any desired point thereon by a'screw. The collar m is prevented from endwise movement by two of the slotted ears of one of the presserfeet, between which said collar is interposed, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, so that when the collar is affixed to the arbor the ribbed roller is prevented from lateral movement between the presser-feet.

We prefer to employ an auxiliary presserfoot, 'n, located between the feet I) b and behind the needles, for the purpose of holding down the portion of the work between the presser-t'eet b Z). Said auxiliary foot n is adapted to rise and fall with the feet I) b, and, like the roller g, has an independent yielding movement, and is adapted to be adjusted laterally, so as to remain equidistant from said feet when the distance between them is varied. The anxiliary foot n is not an essential part of this invention, although it is useful in preventing the work from rising between the feet b b, and thus preventing the formation of the stitrhes, which is liable to occur when the feet are widely separated. Its chief function, however, is to hold down an outside stay, as shown in our application for LettersPatent of the United States filed with the present application, (serial No. 39,761,) to which reference is made for a fuller description.

We do not limit ourselves to the employment of the roller gin all cases as a means for holding down and guiding the work, for in some cases the work may be held down and guided between the presser-feet by the bar g, (shown in our pending application for Letters Patent No. 39,761,) said plate or bar being placed in the slots 6 e of the presser-feet b b and having preferably a slot to receive, hold down, and guide an outside stay in advance of the needle; or the lower edge of said bar-may be used to hold down and guide the work.

Having thus described our invention, we claim- 1. In combination with the stitch-forming mechanism of a twin sewing-machine, a laterally-adjustable rollerjournaled in bearings in the two presser-feet of said mechanism, and provided with a peripheral central rib adapted to run in a seam and guide the work having such seam while an inside seam-covering stay is being applied to the work, as set forth.

2. In combination with the stitch-forming mechanism of a twin sewing-machine, a laterally-adjustable ribbed roller journaled in bearin gs in the two presser-feet of said mechanism, and provided with a yielding movement independent of said presser-feet, whereby the said roller is enabled to yield independently to the extra thickness of material between said feet caused by the inside stay, as set forth.

3. The combination of the twin presser-feet having substantially vertical slots 0 in their outer ends, the ribbed roller g, having an elongated arbor adapted to rotate and move up and down in said slots, an adjustable collar on said arbor to keep the roller in a central position between the presser-feet, and springs h h, adapted to exerta downward yielding pressure on said arbor, as set forth.

4:. In combination with the stitch-forming mechanism of a twin sewing-machine, a device supported by the outer ends of the twin presser feet of such mechanism, and adapted to guide and hold down the work, as set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 5th day of August, A. D. 1881.

HIRAM BOND. GEORGE A. MERRILL.

Witnesses:

DAVID B. TENNEY, RAYMOND NoYEs. 

